The 4 Best Bluetooth Home Speakers for Hi-Fi Music Streaming

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Fancy yourself a critical listener? Someone who really cares about the music you're playing? That's cool, but what's even cooler is that you're not freaking out about vinyl. Yeah, collecting records is fun. Listening on Hi-Fi headphones is fun. Finding freaky old recordings is sick, but we have the world's music library at our fingertips! There's so many live recordings and obscure genres on YouTube. Streaming is just easier.

But, those headphones and summertime speakers won't cut it sometimes. You don't want to cancel outside noise. You just want to play your music out loud. You could stream through your soundbar or surround sound system, but that's not straightforward all of the time. What you need is a high-tech Hi-Fi speaker. One that's meant specifically for music listening. Lucky for you, you're in the right place.

We've trapped our tech nerds, gadget experts, and music lovers in a room and made them listen. We were tasked with finding the best bluetooth home speakers. This wasn't a search for smart home devices. We were looking for the best bluetooth speakers for listening to music at home. These four options were what we settled on. Buy any of these, and you'll be sorted for a long, long time.

Woburn III

In terms of the full package—looks, sound, and ease of use—Marshall's Woburn is our top model. It's the top-of-the-line offering from the strong Marshall consumer lineup, and it beats out the rest of the competition.

It's a big speaker, yes, but that allows it to deliver a massive soundstage. The Woburn III has a two subwoofers, two tweeters, and a new three-way driver system. The result is incredible sound across the board. The lows are deep enough to compete with a fancy surround sound system. The mids are clear and consistent, and the highs are able to cut through it all.

The ease of use with the Woburn is really what sets it apart, though. You can connect via bluetooth without downloading a proprietary app. You can also connect a turntable via aux or RCA and a preamp. And, you can even connect your TV via HDMI. This essentially makes it three speakers in one, capable of handling all the sound in your home.

If you live in an apartment or smaller home that doesn't need this much sound, Marshall's Stanmore III is a great alternative. It's $379 with all the same tech but slightly less under the hood and no HDMI connection.

Era 300

If you're looking for a voice controlled bluetooth speaker, the Sonos Era 300 is what you want. You can speak to it with the internal Sonos voice control, or you can sync it up with Alexa. That said, this can be a true bluetooth speaker—meaning you don't need to use any extra apps or software to get going. It's easier to use if you download the Sonos app and connect devices, but that's not necessary.

As for sound, this is another one that blows us away. The internal microphones allow it to be a bit smarter than the Marshall speaker. The Era 300 runs with Sonos Trueplay—a software that's a slight step down from the Dolby Atmos you'd find in the Sonos Arc. Trueplay uses audio feedback to measure the acoustics of your space, and then the speaker tweaks its EQ to fit said space. Once thats set up, a combination of two woofers and four tweeters give you industry leading sound.

For only streaming music, a smart assistant, and sound that'll fill out your room, you won't beat the Era 300.

HD4

If you prefer a classic bookshelf speaker, this pair from Audioengine is our favorite. The two four-inch woofers hit all your lows and the.75-inch tweeters cut through with the highs. If we have any complaints, it's that they do lean a bit bass-y, especially when you compare them to the smarter options on this list. But honestly, it endears us to them even more. They're bluetooth enabled, but they're not overly tech-y. They just play great music, be it digital or analog.

Speaking of analog, they do have the ability to function as regular bookshelf speakers. Connect them to your non-streaming players via aux or RCA.

Zeppelin

I'm glad someone is making proper audio equipment for those of us that prefer streaming. Vinyl nerds shouldn't get all the love. I want to load up some Apple lossless audio or an old YouTube concert recording and stream my music. Bowers & Wilkins is the Hi-Fi brand that respects that.

The Zeppelin has it all. The shape is interesting, but it doesn't scream for attention. The setup is ridiculously easy. And the price... well it's expensive, but worth it. This is the last Hi-Fi speaker you'll buy for a long, long time. Bowers & Wilkins is dedicated to updating the Zeppelin's software and has no plans to phase this speaker out.

As for sound, it's easily the best on this list. The other speakers will fill a room, but this is at the next level of performance. Two tweeters, two mid-range drivers, and one big ole six-inch subwoofer give you deep, rich, and clear sound. The angle of the speaker is such that it gives you a surround sound feel. And, it's got Alexa built in.

This is, however, a speaker for music lovers only. The shape makes you think it should have a second life as a sound bar, but it doesn't. To be fair, we like it that way. Spend more time listening to music, less time watching TV, and you'll be a better person.

How We Chose the Best Home Bluetooth Speakers

We listened to music on them! Really. We've had hands on time with a ton of different speakers, and these are the ones that always stand out. Here are the criteria we care about most.

Bluetooth Capability - When we buy a bluetooth speaker, we want it to do that first and foremost. If we can download an app for advanced controls, cool. But, we shouldn't have to download said application.

Connection - Yes, this is a bluetooth speaker list, but we love multi-functional objects. If it can connect to multiple devices, that's a good thing.

Distinguishing Trebles from Mids from Bass - With speakers made for music, it's easy for everything to blend together. Unlike a surround sound setup, everything is in one package. It's vital that a you can hear everything separately.

Higher Volume Performance - If you're having a party or if you're in another room, you need to be able to crank up the sound while keeping clean, consistent audio.

Why Trust Esquire?

We've been poking, prodding, and stress-testing products for years, allowing us to recommend the best tech worth your hard-earned money. With years of experience, our discerning ears are finely tuned to know what sounds good. We also know when something sounds like bullshit, so we’re here to help translate all the marketing speak.

We promise to give it to you straight—no-frills, no-nonsense. We compile our guides by performing heavy research and testing, and the gadgets we choose are what we'd spend our money on.

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